Liposuction

Originally, corsets, bindings, girdles and then later, control-top pantyhose were all used to shape and slenderize women’s figures. Many women remember the all too familiar feeling of flesh crushed flat, mashed against a girdle panel while dressing. Gone are the days when women had to lay down on their bed just to get on a pair of jeans…

Enter… liposuction, a way to remove excess fat and tissue without leaving an unsightly scar. The surgeon takes a long narrow tube called a cannula and inserts this into a small incision. A machine that one end of the tube is attached you, works like a vacuum cleaner sucking the fat out of the body and depositing it into large container. Originally, liposuction was used on thighs, buttocks and stomachs. But with recent technological advances, liposuction can be used virtually anywhere on the body where excess fat lives. Liposuction is the second most commonly practiced surgery in the United States (after breast augmentation). Liposuction can be a stand-alone procedure, or done in conjunction with a breast reduction or other plastic surgeries.

Patients who undergo liposuction are also advised to follow a strict diet and exercise program. If they stay the course, the results of liposuction will be permanent.

Over half of your body fat stays hidden deep within your body. The other 50% is known as superficial fat and is found between the muscle and the skin. This is the fat that the liposuction attacks and removes. This type of surgery can be done on Thighs, Hips and buttocks, Abdomen and waist, Upper arms, Back, Inner knee, Chest area, Cheeks, chin and neck and Calves and ankles.

Liposuction should not be viewed as a weight loss program. Instead, it is to shape the body, removing excess fat from problem areas. One should mentally prepare for the transformation that happens after liposuction. Although liposuction is not a weight loss program, the loss of fat can dramatically alter your appearance so keep that in mind. If you have a history of medical problems, you will not be considered a good candidate for liposuction. The same goes if you are obese – you should be within 30% of your ideal body weight to undergo this procedure. As mentioned earlier, liposuction is used to shape the body, not to cast off pounds and pounds of fat.

The cost will vary depending on your location and how many areas of the body you wish to have worked on.